Sara Stevens
Architecture & Landscape Architecture
University of British Columbia
Canada
Biography
Sara Stevens is an architectural historian who writes about the history of real estate development. Chock full of cookie-cutter buildings and tax-avoidance schemes, this might be the least glamorous way to study the history of architecture, but Sara argues that following the money helps us to understand not just how certain signature buildings came to be, but also about how entire urban landscapes came to inhabit the forms they did. Real estate development is an area that historians have largely ignored, but real estate developers are key figures who link architects to big money and big projects. They connect architects’ dreamy, grand visions to the concrete and steel that comprise our cities and in doing so, they embed the history of architecture in stories about the biggest changes facing urban landscapes. By understanding the role of real estate in the history of architecture, Sara’s research shows how both big ideas and practical constraints have shaped cities, both in their downtowns and at their suburban edges. Given the recent explosion in Vancouver’s real estate market, she imagines this topic will find plenty of new material to research here and looks forward to expanding this work.
Research Interest
Architecture
